heir judgments shall not be equal
upon the questions between these races? It is all very well for us to
have sympathy for the poor and the unfortunate, but both sides call
for our sympathy in the South. The master, who, by his wickedness and
folly, has involved himself in the troubles that now beset him, has
returned, abandoning his rebellion, and has bent down upon his humble
knees and asked the forgiveness of the Government, and to be restored
again as a citizen. Can a man go further than that? He has been in
many cases pardoned by the Executive. He stands again as a citizen of
the country.

"What relation do we desire that the people of the North shall sustain
toward these people of the South--one of harmony and accord, or of
strife and ill will? Do we want to restore commerce and trade with
them, that we shall prosper thereby as well as they, or do we wish
permanent strife and division? I want this to be a Union in form,
under the Constitution of the United States, and, in fact, by the
harmony of the people of the North and of the South. I believe, as
General Grant says, that this bureau, especially with the enlarged
powers that we propose to confer upon it, will not be an instrument of
concord and harmony, but will be one of discord and strife in that
section of the country. It can not do good, but, in my judgment, will
do much harm."

Following immediately upon the close of the above argument, Mr.
Trumbull thus addressed the senate: "Mr. President, I feel it
incumbent on me to reply to some of the arguments presented by the
Senator from Indiana against this bill. Many of the positions he has
assumed will be found, upon examination, to have no foundation in
fact. He has argued against provisions not contained in the bill, and
he has argued also as if he were entirely forgetful of the condition
of the country and of the great war through which we have passed.

"Now, sir, what was the object of the Freedmen's Bureau, and why was
it established? It was established to look after a large class of
people who, as the results of the war, had been thrown upon the hands
of the Government, and must have perished but for its fostering care
and protection. Does the Senator mean to deny the power of this
Government to protect people under such circumstances? The Senator
must often have voted for appropriations to protect other classes of
people under like circumstances. Whenever, in the history of the
Government, there has b